DIY Gobos – Easy and creative portrait lighting tricks to improve your portraits and modeling shots

DIY GOBOS easy to make and a great way to improve you portraits or modeling shots. A gobo is a light modifier. Of course you can purchase a gadget like the Light-Blaster that I talked about in this video: but it too has a limited amount of gobos available and while you can make your own - I love the Light Blaster for its ability to project your own images as backgrounds. Or your best option for gobos is to make your own. That way, the results in your portraits and modeling shots are unique to YOU and your photography. One of the easiest ways to make a gobo is to use the same material that we use for the Walmart Reflectors - Foam Board. You can get 20” x 30” sheets at Walmart for just under two dollars or get a slightly thinner version at Dollar Stores for just a buck. You will need an Exacto knife which you can find at Art and Office Supply stores or at Amazon and a straight edge ruler. It’s also a good idea to use a cutting mat or at least some old cardboard under the foam board when you cut it so that you don’t ruin your table top or floor. Simply draw out the shape that you want to use on the foam core. After you draw your shape - use your Exacto knife to cut out the design and then place your gobo between your light and the background like you see here - or between the light and your subject like you see here. Now some of you are going to ask me - How close should the light be to the gobo and how far from the background or subject should the gobo be. This DIY lighting tutorial will show you that there is no single answer for that. You have to experiment and play with the gobos to see what YOU like. Hopefully by now you have realized that you can use a cheap set of Mini blinds that you can get at Amazon for 10 bucks to create window light like you see here. Again, there is no “this is the right way“ distance and power settings… you have to experiment - the settings and distance will be determined by the size of your portrait studio and photography equipment and most of all - your taste.. You can also add colored gels to your lights like you see here - I have a blue gel aimed at the background on camera left and an orange gel firing though the gobo, or in this example I have a blue gel on camera left and an orange gel on the camera right strobe just like in the last shot, but then I taped a yellow gel over the slots on the gobo. There are no rules - experiment! Take the Toilet Paper GOBO Challenge! Become a member of my Facebook Group and submit your portrait or modeling shot using Toilet Paper as a GOBO Be sure to hashtag your shot: #ToiletPaperGOBOChallenge LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO Light Blaster Video: Gobo History Video: Walmart Reflector Video: Mini Blinds at Amazon: Light Blaster at Amazon: Exacto Knives at Amazon: Self Healing Cutting Mats at Amazon: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DON’T MISS OUT ON MORE WAYS TO LEARN MY WEBSITE: Includes my portfolio and over 300 articles and interviews! WANNA SEE MY GEAR? Includes all the gear used to make this live stream, my studio equipment, travel gear, studio gear, grip gear, and more! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What is TOGKnowledge? TOGKnowledge is an online photography community for photographers of ALL genres! No social media crap here. TOGKnowledge by Joe Edelman is a supportive, creative community designed to help you improve your photography with access to me as well as photographers in over 30 countries worldwide. Use this link to learn more about how you can get your FREE 7-day trial and become a member for LESS THAN 14 CENTS PER DAY! - Paid memberships include an annual video portfolio review! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - LET’S CONNECT! Follow on INSTAGRAM: Follow on FACEBOOK: My FACEBOOK GROUP: Follow on THREADS: @joeedelman Follow on X / TWITTER: Check my boards on PINTEREST: Connect on LINKEDIN: Please SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL so that you don’t miss NEW VIDEOS! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FTC Disclosure: No sponsors have paid for or provided equipment or material shown in this video #ishootpeople #joeedelman